A recent picture of me. Taken July 4, 2011, by family friend Tom Godfrey.

Those are my reading glasses. My hair drives me bonkers. It’s straight as can be, but it gets these odd fly away aspects. The Spurs play tonight, so I have my Spurs T-shirt on. Since it’s chilly today, it’s the long-sleeve version.

The next part of this meme is to post 15 facts about myself. I doubt they’ll all be news to you, but maybe some will be.

1. Posting 15 facts about myself might be pretty dry, because facts are facts. And I have a tendency to take tasks literally.

2. I wanted to be a zoo veterinarian when I was in high school and my first year in college. I volunteered on Saturday mornings with a veterinarian in our local area. I learned a lot of fascinating things. I observed some sad moments and, in one case, I witnessed the restarting of a puppy’s heart on the operating table after it stopped beating during an operation (that was thrilling). Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to bring myself to administer shots to my own dogs. This did not bode well for my future as any kind of medical person. That didn’t deter me. What caused me to shelve that particular dream was earning a “D” in chemistry in my freshman year at Ohio State.

3. Most of you know I retired from the U.S. Air Force after serving for 28 years (plus a couple of days). But do you know what I did before that? While in high school, I mowed the lawn at my dad’s chemical plant in the summers. Year round, I worked at the local theaters either as a ticket seller or at the concession stand. I worked for a flat rate of $10 a day. I could really rake it in if I worked the matinee or the flea market on Sundays and the evening shows (that netted me $20 in one day — less taxes, of course). The summer after my freshman year at college, I joined the paint crew at my dad’s chemical plant (understand, it wasn’t his chemical plant — he worked there) to paint the plant. After that, I moved to Massachusetts to make toy drums at The Noble and Cooley Company, which is still in business but is now making real drums (which I think is really cool). I was making minimum wage, and took a (very) small cut in pay to enter the Air Force.

4. The mind numbing repetition of making toy drums drove me bonkers. I was ready to return to college after learning what life is like without an education.But who could afford to go? I was very reluctant to consider the Air Force. When I talked to the recruiter, I told myself if I detected any BS, I was walking away. I detected none. I entered in an open electronics career field and scored a six month tech school while I was in basic training. I wanted and needed an education, and I earned that and more throughout my career.

5. I had not intended to make the Air Force a career. It just kind of happened. Opportunities kept presenting themselves, and I was able to take advantage of them. Keeping the theme of education in mind, I was able to earn three community college degrees, a bachelor’s degree, and a master’s degree. I also taught at all three of those levels throughout my career.

6. My mother and I were riding in an elevator together not too many years ago. There were two posters in the elevator. One was of a toddler in a swing. The other was of kittens. Mom was goo-goo for the toddler. I was goo-goo for the kittens. That’s the fundamental difference between me and most people, I think.

7. I love my family, but the concept of co-existing in a house with other people has always been rather bizarre to me. I guess I’m broken that way.

8. It took me twelve years and seven schools before I finally earned my bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland University College. Except for my freshman year at Ohio State, I worked full-time in the military while attending classes in my off-duty time. Yes, you can do it.

8a. The schools I attended? The Ohio State University. College of Great Falls. San Antonio College. University of Texas at San Antonio. University of Maryland University College. University of Maryland. Anne Arundel Community College. Two institutions were involved in earning my Masters’: University of Maryland Baltimore County and Troy State University in Montgomery.

9. Most kids in my church get confirmed in 8th grade. I didn’t believe I could honestly take the expected oath, so I declined confirmation with my class. I felt more comfortable with my beliefs the next year and consented to the confirmation before we moved to Ohio. I have never regretted either choice. To me, it was a matter of integrity.

10. I have completed five marathons in my lifetime. My best time was the Motorola Marathon in Austin, TX. My worst time was the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon in Las Cruces, NM — that was also the most meaningful marathon for me. I’d like to do the Bataan Memorial Death March again sometime.

11. I don’t know how to have a good time. Or maybe my idea of a good time doesn’t mesh with other people’s idea of a good time. To me, there just isn’t anything better than being home with a pile of books, a couple of computers, and the internet. Even my husband thinks there’s something wrong with me.

12. I am anxious about several days in this meme. So anxious about it that I initially decided not to do it. I’m still not sure I will do those days. In essence, any of the days requiring me to talk about me and other people or to show pictures of me and other people are going to be very difficult. I don’t do people well. Some people may be surprised by that, because I try to seem like other people are not a problem for me (it’s a useful skill in so many ways), but generally speaking, if there are other people involved, I am very leery of that activity. Please don’t take that to mean I don’t like people. There are some people I like very much. I’m just really uncomfortable trying to figure out how to coexist with them.

13. If girls are supposed to like something, I can guarantee I don’t like it. I don’t do purses or heels. I don’t like pink or purple. I refuse to wear makeup or jewelry. My husband has bought flowers on occasion, and I appreciate them, but generally speaking, they’re not really me. I wash and wear my hair. I don’t like dresses, but in recent years, there have been a few times when I’ve voluntarily worn them because they were just easier for the situation (this surprised me — and probably a few other people). Men’s clothing outnumbers women’s clothing in my wardrobe at least 2-1. I do wear women’s underwear–the plainer the better. That seems to work better than anything else. I used to think blue was my favorite color, but I believe it’s really red. You may be interested to note that I do carry backpacks from time to time, but the real kicker for me was getting the iPad with the intent to carry it with me everywhere I went. I had to get a carry case for it, and that’s kind of like a purse. That grates on my soul. But having really cool tech gear to haul with me everywhere softens the blow. (My opinion — yours may vary).

14. I can’t think of much I’m afraid of. There are a lot of things I don’t like. Maybe not liking something is a form of fear. I’m not sure.

15. Are we really at fifteen? What’s one more fact about me? This is pretty mundane, but I’ve read from the adult section of the library since around the fourth or fifth grade. I was creating my spelling and vocabulary lists in the fifth grade for half the year, because that was the year I wound up in one of those 70’s experimental self-pacing things (the first sign of liberal occupation of the school system and the beginning of its downfall), and I finished my fifth grade spelling book before Christmas. They didn’t know what to do with me, so I think I proposed going through the dictionary and making up my own lists of spelling words each week. The teacher seemed to really like that idea. She was in her first or second year of teaching right out of college. A truly adorable, tall, pretty, young, long-haired blonde who lived a couple of blocks from me.

There you have it. A recent picture of me and fifteen random facts. Are you still awake? I do not promise a daily posting or that I will post about all thirty of these subjects, but we’ll see what I can come up with.